Moana

Chapter Twelve

"Yeah!" Moana cheered.

"Whoo-hoo!" Aukai whooped. "We did it!"

He and Moana turned to face each other. Caught up in the moment, they laughed as they threw their arms around each other in a hug. But after realizing what they just did, they pulled away sheepishly before continuing to celebrate.

"Congratulations on not being dead, kiddos," Maui said with a small smile as he began pulling blow darts out of the boat. "You both surprise me.

"But I'm still not taking that thing back."

Moana and Aukai's smiles fell. Maui then stood up to finish pulling out darts as he continued.

"You two wanna get to Te Fiti you gotta go through a whole ocean of bad. Not to mention Te Kā." He then pointed at a tattoo on his back, depicting his defeat to the fire demon.

"Lava monster?" Maui asked. "Ever defeat a lava monster?"

"No," Moana answered. "Have you?"

Maui pouted as he turned away. Hiding his smile, Mini-Maui pulled down a scoreboard. One half looked like a big guy like Maui while the other half had a girl with curly hair like Moana and a boy with a sword in his hand like Aukai.

Using his fish hook, Mini-Maui scored a point in the Moana and Aukai box.

Maui glared at his tattoo before playing it cool.

"I'm not going on a suicide mission with a couple of mortals," Maui said as he searched through the food before pulling out a banana. "You two can't restore the heart without me... and me says no.

"I'm getting my hook," Maui concluded as he took the boat's helm. "End of discussion."

"That's great," Aukai mumbled. "We came all this way just to find out the demigod is a coward."

Moana, however, noticed something. She looked down at Maui's chest, at the tattoo of him slowing down the sun. A crowd of people cheered for him as he did his deed.

She had an idea.

"You'd be a hero," Moana said before Maui took a bite of his banana. "That's what you're all about, right?"

"Little girl," Maui said as he took a bite of the fruit, "I am a hero."

"Maybe you were," Moana agreed as she took the banana from him. "But now... now you're just the guy who stole the heart of Te Fiti. The guy who cursed the world." Smirking, she took a bite out of the banana. "You're no one's hero."

"And, to add on to that," Aukai added, joining the conversation as Moana handed him the banana. "I remember hearing stories. I don't remember who I was before, but I'm starting to get bits and pieces. I especially remember stories of heroes and their deeds. I remember hearing about the mighty Hercules, a man who was born with the strength of a god. The cunning Aladdin, who defeated a powerful sorcerer with the aid of a genie. But I never heard of you or your stories."

Smirking, Aukai finished off the banana.

"No one remembers your deeds," he concluded.

"No one?" Maui scoffed.

Moana folded her arms and shook her head with a raised eyebrow.

Aukai also shook his head.

Hei-Hei just clucked as he tilted his head.

Even the ocean shook its "head".

Maui's confidence shattered. Was he no one's hero anymore? And did no one remember him stealing fire or holding up the sky? Did anyone think of him at all in a good way?